James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Monday, August 6, 2012

(Direct link to video) Painting outdoors with watercolor is a tough challenge, even for highly trained professionals. In this episode Jeanette and I square off against dangerous wasps, rain, and wind in an attempt to paint an abandoned farm tractor.

30 comments:

Loved this blog James! Ha ha! Gotta love the weather and its unpredictability! It can be a nightmare here also,in Ireland, for the plein-eir painter as we could have all four seasons in one day at times! You did well considering the weather.

You two are intrepid. Great work under trying circumstances! Good to see the magnet performed under rigorous field conditions. Should anyone care to acquire their own, Lee Valley Tools sells a wide range of rare earth magnets.

Thanks, everyone. I figure there are five keys to good documentary TV, whether it's "Swamp Loggers" or "BBC Earth":

1. "If we blow this chance it's all over."2. "One mistake and it might be fatal."3. "The clock is ticking; not much time left."4. "You chump, you're doing it all wrong."5. If something screws up, get it on camera.

Maybe add a Survivorman twist: After being stranded in the wilderness without art supplies you are forced to craft your own pigments from berries and tubers -- just to stay alive... you know "alive" in an aesthetic, pictorial sense ... er ... okay maybe this pitch needs some work...

Good call Steve on the magnets: I made a travel WC rig by putting tube colors into those plastic weekly vitamin/pill holders with magnets in them. The pill holders then sit securely on a small metal butcher tray (7"x10") which I use for mixing.

James, I love your blog. My favorite on the internet. Never commented yet, but I saw Ernest's comment above, and I TOTALLY AGREE. You should have a TV show/documentary/TV special. Your videos are really entertaining, you're a great host, and whenever you flash the watercolors, my already high expectations never match how incredibly good the real thing is... Amazing.

Love it! I'm impressed at how fast you work; I drove my sister nuts while visiting her in Germany last week by fiddling around with my watercolor pencils for far longer than she was reasonably able to put up with.

I love your blog - nice video! Can you tell me what portable chair that is that you're sitting on? It looks comfy & light. And if there are any other favorite stools/chairs of yours that you might like to comment on it would be nice to hear about those as well (I'm wanting to get one for my sketching adventures).

Man, spilling water on your pants was traumatic! I'm just grateful it didn't splash onto your painting.That's why I don't paint watercolor en plein air. Thanks for showing us the hazards! Love this by the way!

I don't know if you're able to go back and comment on these older posts, James, but I've been wondering about the effect of that clip in the metal flap to the watercolor case. It seems like it might bend it. Is that a concern?

Tom, if the metal clip spreads wide enough, it can grab the entire watercolor journal. If it only grabs a partial group of pages, it might make a mark on an opposite page. But I didn't have a problem with it.